Lawmakers, Citizens Rally for Campaign Finance Reform

Lawmakers, Citizens Rally for Campaign Finance Reform

<p style="FONT-FAMILY: "><span style="FONT-FAMILY: arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="FONT-SIZE: small">Congressman Chris Van Hollen, who represents about half of Frederick County, is sponsoring a bill in Washington D.C. The Disclose Act would increase the transparency of election donations.</span></span></p>

ANNAPOLIS, MD- Citizens and lawmakers rallied in Annapolis Thursday morning against what they call secret spending in government.

It's not every day you see a man dressed as a building walking outside the State House.

"I am Person Inc., and I represent the corporations," says Randy Goldberg, with Get Money Out Maryland.

Goldberg joined other groups calling for campaign finance reform. Those who attended the rally want the Citizens United Supreme Court decision to be overturned.

"This was a case that basically said corporations could spend unlimited money now in campaigns. Before there used to be some constraints on how much money could be spent," says Rep. John Sarbanes, (D) - Md. 3rd District.

Sarbanes wants a constitutional amendment limiting special interest and business donations to politicians.

"The large sums of corporate money that is part of our elections. There's not a lot of transparency there," says Kate Planco Waybright, with Progressive Maryland.

Congressman Chris Van Hollen, who represents about half of Frederick County, is sponsoring a bill in Washington D.C. The Disclose Act would increase the transparency of election donations.

"They've passed a ruling that unleashes unlimited secret money into our political system, and this needs to be reversed," Goldberg says.

Protesters say throwing money at politicians could lead to favors for unions and corporations down the road, but local legislators say that's not the case.

"I fully support the Supreme Court's decision of protecting our First Amendment rights to free speech. I think a good legislator will take into considerations all of their constituents, no matter what dollar amount the constituency gives," says Del. Kelly Schulz, (R) - Frederick County.

Maryland PIRG a consumer group, reports 32 billionaires and corporations gave an average of $9.9 million each to super pacs during the presidential election.